Notes Beforehand:
- This is a history book written as if it was written by a historian in the alternate history world.
- Each chapter would be about 1200 words-ish long.
- The dating system will be explained in the prologue.
- Some events will be based on historical ones, others will be completely made up.
- I'm new at this whole writing business so Critic Level 3 please
- When I cant post whole chapters up I will post small bits of extra infomation related to this world but dont fit in the story.
Onward with the story....
The rise of the Roman Empire is nothing short of a miracle, Sir, no wonder you wish to know how it happened, it grew from a tiny state in the central of Italy, to a world-wide empire that would last for more than a thousand years. Chronicling all of its long history in one book would be an impossible task, and that is why I have decided to split this chronicle into ten volumes. The first volume is already finished when your letter reached me, and is sent to you as requested. It is as accurate as it can be, as many sources from the Romans themselves were destroyed through war or neglect.
Your faithful servant, Romanos Angelos
---Letter sent with the first volume of “Rome: A History” to King Alexander of Morea, written in 1143
“It is said that Rome was founded by the two sons of a wolf! Will we fear the upstart cubs of them? No! We are the Molossian Hounds! We conquered the world with Alexander the Magnificent, we triumphed over the wild Illyrian tribes; what have they achieved? Nothing! How can we be defeated by these mongrels?”
---Extract from Pyrrhus of Epirus’ speech before the battle of Maleventum in 317 BC
“The Carthaginians were the rulers of Messana in all but name; will we stand for it? They betrayed us in the Great War against Pyrrhus; will we let them do it again? We must not let such a vital city to fall into their hands, we must take back Messana!”
---Extract from speech of King Gaius Junius Brutus in the Senate in 305 BC
Prologue
The ancient legends of the Romans themselves say that Rome was founded by Romulus and Remus, orphans who were raised by a she-wolf; they were followed by six more kings from the original line, they were mostly insignificant. However, the reign of the last original king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, or Tarquin the Proud, was prematurely ended, when a mob led by a Lucius Junius Brutus, one of his many relatives, stormed his palace and killed the King. The cause and what happened during the rebellion is unclear, although one source, a Roman author called Livy, reports that after the murder of the King. “Brutus stood upon the body of the fallen King, preparing to begin a speech, he only got out the words “Never shall Rome be ruled by a…” before the sound of the mob overwhelmed him. They had found the crown of King amongst the bodies, and in their wild excitement, urged Brutus to take it. He was aghast, he had been preaching to the mob before they came here about the virtues of a free republic. However, after much persuasion from the crowd, he accepted the crown, and became the first Roman King of the Brutii line, which would last for more than four hundred years.” Livy was a Roman historian who lived during the Great Casesarion’s time, for the purpose of putting an accurate time-scale upon the history included in this book, all time periods will be referred to as BC, which stands for Before Caesarion, and AC, After Caesarion. Using this scale, the new Brutii dynasty lasted from 549 BC to 99 BC, when the divine Caesar took power from the King, and made himself Emperor of the Roman Empire.
Immediately after his coronation, the new King ordered Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, another nobleman who was related to the old king, to lead an army to crush Tarquin the Proud’s family and their allies in Etruria. It resulted in a brilliant victory, but unfortunately, the mob that had brought the new noblemen into power could not stand the thought of having another Tarquin having power, and he soon was exiled to Massila, a Greek city friendly with Rome, his descendants later would cause much devastation to the Roman people.
In a few years, Rome’s power was secured around its immediate surroundings, and could interfere easily with the weakened Etruria and the Latin states around them, however, it still have not nearly enough power to contend with either the great Carthaginian empire of Africa, or the many Greek states to the north and east.
Rome: A History
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